Press Statement by DAP Secretary-General and MP for Bagan Lim Guan Eng in Komtar, George Town on 5.11.2012

I refer to the article in The Star today titled, “Lim: Respect the law and pay AES summonses”. This headline is unfortunately inaccurate and misleading.

While I repeatedly stressed during the press conference that I am against the implementation of the Automated Traffic Enforcement (AES) 1Malaysia camera system, and that “whether we like it or not, these are summonses issued under the law”, I had not at any time said that people should pay the summons. Instead, I said that I will not make such a call until I get a briefing by the Transport Ministry and after further discussion is made with the PR Leadership.

Previously, PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar had called on the public to ignore the AES 1Malaysia camera summons because it was unjust and benefits crony companies. While I expressed sympathy with Mahfuz’s call, I stopped short of supporting the move because as a government leader I cannot be asking people to flout the law by tearing up their traffic summonses. Any decision must only be made after great deliberation and consultation with lawyers and the top PR leadership.

After all, even when I was detained and imprisoned, we still accepted the decision even though it was a clear travesty of justice. Whilst we can defy any unjust laws, we must also be prepared to pay the price.

In this case, all PR states have already made their stand clear in disallowing the AES 1Malaysia cameras, because we believe that summons should be preventive in nature with all proceeds going to the government and not into the pockets of crony companies that benefit from profit-sharing agreements with commissions made on each summons issued. Clearly, this commercialisation and privatisation of summonses is not in the public interest and done solely for the private profiteering of BN crony companies.

Nevertheless, if elected to power in the 13th General Election, DAP will call for the future PR Government to revoke all AES speeding summonses because it is conducted not in the public interest but for private profiteering by BN crony companies. This will apply only to speeding summonses and not to traffic light offences.

However, until and unless there is a change of government, there is nothing we can do and the summonses issued are valid as far as the law is concerned.

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